The Uchiha clan (うちは一族, Uchiha Ichizoku) was one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure,[1] and was also reputed to be the village's most powerful clan,[2] boasting shinobi that were exceptionally talented and battle-oriented. Together with the Senju clan, they founded Konohagakure, but is now almost extinct after the events of the clan massacre.

Contents

Background

Founding

The Uchiha clan before the founding of Konoha.

The Uchiha clan descended from the elder of the two sons of the Sage of the Six Paths. The elder brother inherited the Sage's "eyes", powerful chakra and spiritual abilities. When it came time for the Sage to choose a successor, he questioned the two on what course of action they would follow to bring order to the world. The elder believed that power was the way to bring peace, while the younger believed love was the way. The Sage favoured the ideal of the younger brother, and therefore designated the younger as his successor, causing the elder to be filled with jealousy and hate. From this hate came what Obito Uchiha calls the Curse of Hatred (憎しみの呪い, Nikushimi no Noroi). From the younger son descended the Senju clan who would be the eternal rivals of the Uchiha.

Before the founding of the ninja villages, the Uchiha were one of the many mercenary clans for hire. Because of their Sharingan as well as battle prowess, the Uchiha clan came to be known as one of the two strongest clans, the other being the Senju clan. Madara Uchiha was particularly powerful, and, upon attaining the Mangekyō Sharingan, he took control of the clan. Under his leadership the Uchiha grew stronger, conquering whatever clans they came upon, such that, whenever the Uchiha clan was hired for a job, the opposing side would hire the Senju, and vice versa.

Konohagakure

The Senju clan grew tired of the endless fighting, and approached the Uchiha clan with a peace treaty. Madara feared that an alliance would ruin the Uchiha, but his clan disagreed, and he was forced to accept the treaty. The two clans came together to form Konoha, with Hashirama Senju, leader of the Senju clan, being selected as Hokage. Madara believed that this was proof that the Uchiha would be made subservient to the Senju, but his clan saw this only as his attempt to rekindle the flames of war. They turned their backs on him, and he defected. Following Madara's betrayal, the Second Hokage gave the Uchiha control of the Konoha Military Police Force as a sign of trust. According to Obito, this was really just a way of keeping the Uchiha in check and out of Konoha's governing affairs. Over the years, some Uchiha, such as Setsuna, have figured out this motive's true meaning, and tried to rebel against the village as Madara did, but they found that it was too late to make a difference, as the Senju had already completely suppressed the Uchiha.

Massacre

Years later, after the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha, Konoha began to suspect that an Uchiha was behind the attack because of their ability to control the Nine-Tails with their Sharingan.[3] Obito stated that the clan was forced to live in a corner of the village, ostracised from the rest of the community, and placed under heavy surveillance.[4] This gave birth to ill-will amongst the clan and the Uchiha interpreted this as confirmation of what Madara had warned them of years earlier, and began to plan overthrowing the village.[5]Itachi disagreed with the coup d'état, and informed Konoha's leadership of what the Uchiha were up to. Shisui Uchiha, who had been told to keep an eye on his best friend Itachi also disagreed with the clan's plan and joined Itachi in his mission to put a stop to it. He attempted to used the ability of his Mangekyō Sharingan: Kotoamatsukami to stop them, but once again, Danzō, determined to protect the village the only way he saw possible, stole Shisui's right eye from him. After this, Shisui met with Itachi and saddened that he had failed to stop the clan, gave Itachi his left eye before Danzō came after it as well, telling him to protect the village and the name of the Uchiha. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi who had disagreed with the treatment the Uchiha were receiving, tried to negotiate for a more peaceful solution, but as time passed and that strategy seemed to be getting them nowhere, Danzō took matters into his own hands and inveigled Itachi to commit the genocide with threat of his clan's actions creating another war and innocent children, such as his little brother, becoming a casualty.[6]

The end of the Uchiha clan.

Within one night, the entire clan was slaughtered with only one Uchiha left alive: Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke. Sasuke would spend the next few years trying to avenge their family by killing Itachi, something Itachi had planned from the very beginning. After accomplishing this goal, Sasuke learned of Tobi's existence. Tobi, who is in fact Obito Uchiha, another survivor of the clan who was also the one behind the Nine-Tails' attack, told Sasuke about the Uchiha's history and why Itachi had wiped out the Uchiha, prompting Sasuke, with Tobi's help, to resolve to destroy Konoha.[7] Sasuke would later be shown the truth by Itachi himself after he was reincarnated.[6]

Abilities

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, a signature move of the Uchiha.

The Uchiha were famous for their powerful chakra, exceptionally strong techniques, and natural aptitude for anything combat-related. The clan possessed an innate aptitude for Fire Releasenature transformation, with even the youngest of members able to use it from just observation.[8] As such they have created several and use this nature transformation more skilfully than any other.[9] Their signature technique was the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.[10] Clan members were not recognised as adults by the rest of the clan until they could successfully use this technique.[11] The Uchiha were also highly known for their mastery of ninja tools. They themselves invented many shuriken move sets which required the use of thin metal wires, one example being the Windmill Triple Blades technique. They were apparently also somewhat skilled in barrier ninjutsu, having created the Uchiha Flame Battle Encampment which, still holding to their natural affinity for fire, created a barrier that burned whatever came in contact with it.

The Uchiha clan were most feared for their powerful Sharingan, a kekkei genkai which gives them the ability to see the "colours" of chakra, allowing them to analyse and copy their opponent's skills, along with a number of other abilities. Only a select few members of the Uchiha clan manifested the Sharingan. Due to their natural affinity for battle, and their proficiency with ocular genjutsu, many ninjas considered it more tactically favourable to flee rather than face an Uchiha shinobi in one-on-one combat.[12] Among the techniques granted by the Sharingan, the Izanagi and Izanami are deemed to be forbidden, due to their effect of rendering the user blind in exchange for creating genjutsu capable of escaping death or trapping the opponent without failure. Though the clan was feared for their Sharingan, the eyes have also been transplanted into various characters outside the clan.

Madara and Izuna were the first two Uchiha to awaken an advanced form of the Sharingan known as the Mangekyō Sharingan, which can be activated by the pain of losing close friends or family members. However, frequent use of the Mangekyō Sharingan deteriorates the user's eyesight and results in blindness. Only by taking the eyes of a sibling can one's vision be restored, a process that results in the creation of an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (永遠の万華鏡写輪眼, Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan). Itachi indicated that the intricacies of the Mangekyō Sharingan were only discovered after decades of trial and error, implying that many Uchiha throughout history had made the attempt to gain the Mangekyō Sharingan.

One member of the clan, Madara, had managed to awaken the Rinnegan.[13] After he had integrated Senju DNA into his body, he noted that the dōjutsu did not manifest until he was nearing the end of his natural lifespan.[14]

Trivia

Uchiha is another way of pronouncing "uchiwa" (団扇, fan), which is the Uchiha clan symbol. Uchiwa can be used to fan flames, making the flame hotter — referring to the fact that the Uchiha is a clan of fire techniques users.

Most of the clan members tend to wear a black high-collared shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back.

Itachi, Sasuke, and Obito are the three Uchiha that remained after the massacre, and all three eventually became affiliated with Akatsuki and like Madara and his brother Izuna, awoke the Mangekyō Sharingan.

In the earlier stages of the series, Kakashi stated that there are rumours the Uchiha clan's Sharingan was derived from the Hyūga clan's Byakugan.[15] However, Kurama is the only one to know the full truth about the Uchiha clan yet appears to have no intention of revealing what it knows.[16]